ShutterSpace Privacy Policy

Effective Date: October 26, 2023

Welcome to ShutterSpace! This Privacy Policy explains how ShutterSpace ("we," "us," or "our"), a Brooklyn-based platform connecting photographers and creatives with photo studios, collects, uses, and protects your personal information. By using our services, including visiting our website at [hypothetical website address], and related mobile applications (the "Services"), you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy. We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal information is handled in a safe and responsible manner. This policy is designed to comply with applicable data protection laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), where applicable. If you are a resident of California or the European Economic Area, please see the specific sections below outlining your rights under these laws.

1. Information We Collect

We collect several types of information from and about users of our Services, including:

  • Personal Information: This includes information that identifies you as an individual, such as your name, email address, postal address, phone number, and profile picture. We collect this information when you register for an account, book a studio, contact us, or participate in surveys or promotions. For example, when you create a photographer profile, we collect your name, contact information, portfolio links, and a description of your services. Similarly, when a studio owner lists a studio, we collect their name, contact information, studio address, pricing details, and availability.
  • Payment Information: If you make a booking or purchase through our Services, we collect payment information, such as your credit card number, expiration date, and billing address. This information is processed through secure third-party payment processors and is not stored on our servers. We partner with Stripe for secure payment processing. Stripe's privacy policy can be found at [hypothetical Stripe privacy policy URL].
  • Usage Data: We automatically collect information about your interactions with our Services, such as the pages you visit, the searches you conduct, the studios you view, and the dates and times of your visits. This data helps us understand how users interact with our platform and improve our Services.
  • Device Information: We collect information about the device you use to access our Services, including your IP address, browser type, operating system, and device identifiers. This information helps us optimize our platform for different devices and troubleshoot technical issues.
  • Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, and other similar technologies to collect information about your browsing activities. Cookies are small data files stored on your device that help us remember your preferences and track your usage patterns. You can control the use of cookies through your browser settings, but disabling cookies may limit your ability to use certain features of our Services. Our Cookies Policy, available at Cookies Policy, provides more details about our use of these technologies.
  • Communications: We retain copies of any communications you send to us, such as emails, chat logs, and customer support inquiries. This helps us provide better customer service and resolve any issues you may encounter.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for various purposes, including:

  • Providing and Improving Our Services: We use your information to operate, maintain, and improve our Services. This includes personalizing your experience, recommending relevant studios and photographers, and developing new features. For example, we use your search history to suggest studios that you might be interested in.
  • Processing Bookings and Payments: We use your payment information to process bookings and payments for studio rentals and other services.
  • Communicating with You: We use your contact information to send you important updates, notifications, and promotional materials. This includes booking confirmations, reminders, and newsletters about new studios and services. You can opt-out of receiving promotional emails at any time by following the unsubscribe instructions in the email.
  • Providing Customer Support: We use your information to respond to your inquiries, resolve issues, and provide technical support.
  • Personalizing Content and Advertising: We may use your information to personalize the content and advertising you see on our Services. This includes displaying targeted ads based on your interests and demographics.
  • Analytics and Research: We use your information for analytics and research purposes, such as understanding user behavior and trends, measuring the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns, and improving our Services.
  • Legal Compliance: We may use your information to comply with applicable laws and regulations, such as responding to legal requests and preventing fraud.

3. Data Security

We take the security of your personal information seriously and have implemented reasonable measures to protect it from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. These measures include:

  • Encryption: We use industry-standard encryption technologies to protect your payment information and other sensitive data during transmission.
  • Secure Storage: We store your personal information on secure servers with limited access.
  • Access Controls: We restrict access to your personal information to authorized personnel only.
  • Regular Security Assessments: We conduct regular security assessments and audits to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.
  • Employee Training: We train our employees on data security best practices and ensure they understand their responsibilities in protecting your personal information.

While we strive to protect your personal information, no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the absolute security of your information.

4. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. This includes:

  • Account Information: We retain your account information as long as your account is active. If you deactivate your account, we may retain your information for a reasonable period of time to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.
  • Booking History: We retain your booking history to provide you with access to your past bookings and to improve our Services.
  • Payment Information: We retain your payment information for as long as necessary to process payments and comply with financial regulations.
  • Usage Data: We retain your usage data for a reasonable period of time to analyze trends and improve our Services.

We may also retain anonymized and aggregated data indefinitely for research and analytical purposes.

5. Your Rights

You have certain rights regarding your personal information, including:

  • Access: You have the right to access the personal information we hold about you.
  • Correction: You have the right to correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information we hold about you.
  • Deletion: You have the right to request that we delete your personal information, subject to certain exceptions.
  • Objection: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information for certain purposes, such as direct marketing.
  • Restriction: You have the right to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Data Portability: You have the right to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and to transmit it to another controller.
  • Withdrawal of Consent: If we are processing your personal information based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

To exercise these rights, please contact us at Contact Us. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe and in accordance with applicable law.

6. Sharing Your Information

We may share your personal information with third parties in the following circumstances:

  • Service Providers: We share your information with third-party service providers who assist us in providing our Services, such as payment processors, hosting providers, and marketing agencies. These service providers are contractually obligated to protect your information and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them.
  • Business Partners: We may share your information with business partners who offer complementary services, such as equipment rental companies and photography workshops.
  • Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to a valid legal request.
  • Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your information may be transferred to the acquiring entity.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

7. Children's Privacy

Our Services are not intended for children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at Contact Us. We will take steps to delete the information as soon as possible.

8. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on our website and updating the effective date. Your continued use of our Services after the effective date constitutes your acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any updates or changes.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

ShutterSpace
100 Jay Street, Suite 704
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (718) 555-0123

Attn: Data Protection Officer, Anya Petrova